I purchased a video from WASCO that showed Sallie Dahmes mounting a white tale. She never used a taning oil she put a perservative powder on the hide the proceeded to mount the hide on the manikin.
Do you have to use taning oil?
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sally is using dry preservative (dp) in this video - i have the video - there are basically two camps when it comes to preserving hides - one is dp and the other is tanning - dp is thot of as a beginners technique but many experienced taxidermists use it - tanning is more labor intensive but produces a 'lifetime' mount
I can't imagine why world class folk like Sallie Dahmes would make a video showing such "dark ages" techniques like dry preservative only, while she herself in "The Breakthrough Whitetail Taxidermy Manuel" (available from WASCO,) recommends the 12 step 'True-Tan' cape preparation method. Dry preservative (like Borax perparations) act as dessicants only, sucking out the moisture which in theory prevent decay. But leather is alive and must be chemically altered and conditioned, or it will "die." Cracks, hardness, drumming, distortions-such are the rewards of such impatience. On the deer it was flexible and supple; this should be the goal even after 30 or 100 years. Look at leather shoes. Italian leather will be soft and strong; "3rd world" inexpensive leather will crack, break, be useless in a short amount of time. No disrespect to others who use dry preservatives with good results. But as a restorer of old horse tack (saddles and such,) I've seen how leather ages and needs replenishing-something impossible once a cape is mounted.
So, the only real difference between a dry preservative and tanning is that a tanned mount will last longer?
I read something on a study on time where they took 2 pieces of deer hide and nailed them to an outside wall of a barn in the weather. One was dry preserved and the other was tanned. The dry preserved hide lasted 25 years and the tanned hide lasted 40 years.
My Dad tanned my hide over 60+ years ago...It's still doing fine. Starting to get a little wrinkled...but fine...ETCC
tanned mounts are SAID to last longer - i have a friend and mentor that has dp'ed hides for 25 years and the mounts still look just fine - if you want to see how many problems tanning has click the tanning icon and read some of their problems
i was wondering where that term "tan your hide" came from for being in trouble lollllllllllllll
I have my own personal antelope, mule deer heads mounted thirty
years ago no ear drumming or cracks around the eyes cant hang
them outside for 40 years don't expect to live that long